


Wonderland

by i_o_u_e_a



Category: ATEEZ (Band), SEVENTEEN (Band), Super Junior
Genre: (probably), Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Angels, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Demons, Dragon!Mingi, Dragons, Fae & Fairies, Faerie!Wooyoung, Faerie!Yeosang, Gen, M/M, Soldier!Hongjoong, Vampire!Jongho, Vampire!San, Vampires, Werewolf!Yunho, Werewolves, although probably not, based on the wonderland mv, more tags tba, prince!seonghwa, rating + warnings may change, theres a war
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-11
Updated: 2019-12-13
Packaged: 2020-12-07 11:35:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,388
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20975246
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/i_o_u_e_a/pseuds/i_o_u_e_a
Summary: A kingdom torn to pieces by human greed, burdened by a seemingly never-ending war.A prince in exile, searching for a way to restore his crown.A group of eight determined to right the wrongs of the world once and for all.





	1. Prologue

Once upon a time, there was an expansive kingdom by the name of Wonderland, overflowing with magic and ruled by a benevolent monarch. It could be considered idyllic, utopian – all beings lived together in harmony, as much as mortals are capable of such a feat.

But there were a select few who were displeased with the royals’ gentleness, who believed that the country ought to be ruled with an iron fist, who took offence at the lack of privilege granted to the nobility. These few gathered together, and began to plot a course of events that would make their dream come true – though perhaps not quite in the way they envisaged.

And so, late one night, a hired assassin snuck into the royal palace and killed the king and queen where they lay asleep – though they spared the princes, since the nobles hoped that they might be able to manipulate them into granting them legitimate power. And in the chaos that followed these deaths, they unleashed a great army, formed from the ruling class and all those loyal to them, and set about poisoning every inch of land that they came across, plunging Wonderland into eternal darkness and bringing death to all who dared stand in their way.

The princes fled to the furthest reaches of Wonderland, along with a few dozen of their most trusted staff and friends, and any peasants who wished to escape the impending tyranny. They planned to erect a magical barrier to shield them from the destruction, with a gate that only the pure of heart could pass through – thus keeping them safe from the evil tyrants. But in their flight, mere hours away from the palace, they were ambushed, and two of the three princes were captured, and their friends were forced to abandon them in order to escape.

Those that escaped the ambush continued on to their destination and carried out their plan, vowing to rescue and avenge those they had lost and to one day restore the kingdom of Wonderland to its former glory.


	2. Chapter 1

Two figures pelted through the pitch-dark forest, darting this way and that in an attempt to throw their pursuers off their trail. They moved lithely, dodging fallen branches and boulders despite the lack of light, but the soldiers that chased after them moved almost as quickly, determined to catch the rebels who had stolen god-knows-what, though they were often caught up in stray tree limbs and disoriented by the flickering of their torches as they bounced up and down over fallen logs and stones.

Finally, they broke free, bursting into a clearing, the sounds of the blundering soldiers fading into the distance. A faint glow was barely visible ahead, a sign that their desperate flight had almost reached its end, though the hardest part was still to come.

Yeosang turned to his companion, gasping for air. He wasn’t unfit, by any means – God knows he’d done enough running in the past _ week _ alone to make sure of that – but keeping up with San was an Olympic feat, and it was hardly helped by the military uniform they had donned in order to gain access to the nearby compound. _ The soldiers _ ** _have_ ** _ to be under some sort of compulsion, _ he thought to himself, _ nobody would _ ** _willingly_ ** _ wear something like _ ** _this_ ** _ into a forest _. Although at heart, he knew that he could not dismiss the actions of such people as the fault of some evil overlord – one of his own friends was proof that even when under the strongest compulsion, it was possible to control one’s actions, if you cared enough. “Are they– have we outrun them?” he asked breathlessly, glancing around in the dimness. He was already regretting agreeing to this mission – sure, rescuing their allies was important, but the faerie wasn’t built for this. He longed to simply unfold his wings and fly, but they had no knives capable of slitting the shirt fabric and so he had to contend with the treacherous undergrowth full of plants that had no voices.

San looked over at Yeosang, eyes dark, and shook his head. “They’re still following us, but those vines you grew over the path have got them tangled up, by the sounds of things.” He wasn’t even slightly out of breath, the chase through the forest being far slower than what he was capable of – this was at most the same speed as his morning _ jogs _ back in Haven. “The Gate’s not too much further—we should reach it in a couple of minutes.”

“Won’t it be guarded?” Yeosang replied, jittery and worried. “Surely the patrol will have sent out an alert to everyone in the area, they didn’t strike me as complete incompetents.” An unpleasant suspicion began to build in his mind. “San… what are you planning?”

“There’s no way both of us can get through. But I can distract them long enough for you to get across.”

As it dawned on Yeosang _just_ what his companion intended to do, he reached out and grabbed the other's hand. “San– you can’t just sacrifice yourself like that! We _ need _ you. _ I _ need you. Please. There has to be some way that we can both get through–”

“There isn’t. Trust me, Yeosang, this is the only way that gets either of us out of here alive. I wouldn’t leave you if I had any other choice.” San drew Yeosang into a tight hug, then pulled away – expression unreadable, but gazing intently in the direction of their pursuers. “Now run. Fast as you can, straight for the Gate. Don’t look back.” 

“And remember, no matter what happens, I love you.”

\---––––––––––

As the love of his life sprinted away, San took a deep breath—and transformed. His eyes glowed golden, his canines lengthened and sharpened, his nails became tough and talon-like. Ordinarily, he could pass for a human quite easily, his dark eyes capable of mimicking the flat dullness of their enemy’s troops with alarming accuracy, but as he dropped the guise, it became abundantly clear that the man was not a human, not by any stretch of the word. He glanced up at the place where the sun should be, as if trying to gauge the time, then broke into a run, moving faster than the human eye could perceive. Within seconds he had reached the encampment of soldiers that stood between Yeosang and safety.

The huge stone bridge that led to the Gate never ceased to awe San, despite having seen it thousands of times. It arced away from the barren land he stood on, piercing through a seemingly endless abyss, and its end was marked by two towering doors on which a compass symbol was engraved. If it were not surrounded by death and gloom, it might have been a beautiful sight.

But the Gate was not San’s current focus, as much as he wished it could be. His priority was to distract the soldiers in the camp that surrounded the entrance to the bridge, in order to allow Yeosang to sneak past them. He leaped over the outer tents without so much as a metre of run-up, inhumanly fast and agile, and landed in the centre of the encampment, eyes glittering in the dim light. The soldiers, who until now had been lounging around – not expecting any attacks with the Gate so clearly closed – sprang to their feet, grabbing weapons from where they lay in the dirt. San was deeply unimpressed with the calibre of these supposedly elite soldiers – none of _ his _ army were foolish enough to leave valuable tools to gather dust and grime on the ground.

He snarled. A handful of the human soldiers backed away, and San almost laughed – they were, despite all their training and all the other soldiers around them, still scared of him. This might be easier than he thought. The nonhuman soldiers at the Gate were mostly vampires, though, so being faced with one of their own kind had no effect. A gun fired, the bullet missing him by a mere few millimetres, and he felt the sting of the silver as it brushed past his cheek. Then the soldiers, moving in unison, began to inch towards him. San eyed the humans who had backed away mere seconds before, watching as they attempted to look as unbothered as their fellows. He grinned, fangs glinting in the light of the campfires around them, and moved closer – seemingly unfazed by their weapons. Then he lunged, snatching a handgun from the closest of the soldiers, ignoring how it seared his hand, and pulled the trigger several times, sending the vampire soldiers into chaos as they tried to avoid the deadly silver bullets.

At that moment, the Gate glowed a brilliant white, illuminating the camp in stark light and blinding the soldiers, a deafening thunderclap signalling its closing. San dropped the gun, cradling his burned hand close to his chest, and took advantage of the soldiers’ disorientation to vanish into the impending darkness. 

\---––––––––––

_ He’s safe, that’s all that matters, _ San told himself, only half paying attention to his surroundings as he sped through the forest searching for a new place to hide until he could make a break for the Gate again. It hurt so much, to have to stay behind, but he knew that it was the only option – Yeosang, the soft, gentle faerie that he was, would not survive so easily here for extended periods of time, but San had always thrived in the dark. And so many people already condemned him purely for what he was, so he would fit well in this pit of evil.

Perhaps it was this pain, or perhaps it was simply the exhaustion that curled at the corners of his consciousness, but he did not notice the patrol ahead, the sounds of their heartbeats drowned out by his emotions. He did not see the carefully-crafted net strung across his path, until it entangled him and he tripped and fell to the ground, thudding against the hard earth.

The patrol soldiers who had set the trap grinned above San as he writhed on the ground, trying and failing to find a way to loosen or release the net. “The boss will be pleased with this,” their leader said, smirking with an aura of insufferable overconfidence. San longed to wipe that arrogance from his face, and he silently vowed to find this patrol again once he was free and make the man regret his career choice.

“Will they, though?” the trapped vampire asked snarkily, unable to help himself. If he was well and truly stuck, it would be tragic not to be able to torment his captors before they disposed of him.

“Oh yes,” a new voice said. It sounded strangely familiar, a grossly warped mimicry of a voice San had always known. “The boss is _very_ pleased with this.” A shoe found its resting place beside San’s head, and as he twisted his head back to face the sky, he was greeted with the face of someone he had never expected to see again. “I think we ought to get this prize back to HQ.” 

He cried out as a heel dug into his shoulder, struggling to breathe through the pain. The owner of the shoe looked down at him, face twisted into a cruel laugh. “Tell me,  _ General Choi _ , do your soldiers know just how weak you truly are? Unable to stand even mild  _ discomfort _ without crying? Pathetic.” San could hear the soldiers whispering in shock at the revelation that he wasn’t just  _ any _ rebel, but a rebel  _ general _ . He wondered, idly, what would have happened if it had been the other general who they tried to capture. That would be entertaining – for San, at least. Possibly Mingi as well, although the dragon’s sense of humour came and went at the most unpredictable of times.

“At least I’m not a  _ traitor _ , at least I remained loyal to my friends,” he ground out, teeth gritted in pain. Contrary to what the so-called ‘boss’ claimed, San had always had quite a high pain tolerance, and had fought through far worse than this – but there are many small parts to a shoulder that, when broken or torn, produce excruciating pain in even the strongest of people, and the power of exhaustion in weakening someone’s defences should never be underestimated. “I may be weak, but at least I’m no coward,  _ Seungcheol _ ,” he spat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so uh... that cliffhanger wasn't exactly planned. i mean, having a cliffhanger was planned, but that particular one? just kinda happened.
> 
> also: me: knows nothing about anatomy or injuries and doesn't particularly want to google certain things  
me: just makes stuff up


	3. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> just a quick heads-up: the previous chapter has been updated with a few small changes, but some of them do reveal important characters, so i'd recommend re-reading it in order to get the most out of the story. also, apologies for the long wait for this update, the last few weeks have been busy with exams and bad news (first sulli's passing, then hyunjoon leaving the boyz, then woojin leaving stray kids) that have kind of killed my ability to write anything good.

“I may be weak, but at least I’m no coward,  _ Seungcheol _ ,” he spat.

The man stepped back. It was clear that San’s words had struck a nerve with him, but he composed himself and quickly moved to kneel beside San, one finger tilting the vampire’s chin up to put them face to face. “Do not assume that you know  _ anything _ about my circumstances,” he said, voice deceptively even. “And do not falsely accuse me of being weak-minded when you have access to so little information.” He stepped back, letting San fall back to the ground.

San’s mind was racing. What did Seungcheol mean? The last San had seen of him, he had been intent on finding the other two princes and breaking them out – and now he was some sort of officer in the army, working against everything he had previously fought for. Was he truly working for the enemy, or did his last comment hint at a deeper purpose?

As he mulled over the other’s words, he failed to notice the hilt of a sword descending to smack him square in the forehead, plunging him into unconsciousness.

\---––––––––––

Yeosang landed in a field of wildflowers, the moon high in the sky above him and the branches overhead rustling in the gentle breeze. He could hear the faint hum as the barrier sealed itself behind him, and could feel the relief in his bones as the forest’s magic welcomed him back. The castle, with its haphazard, partially-built spires, was just visible over the treetops.

Haven was the small tract of Wonderland that they had managed to protect from the coup, and it was bordered by the Great Mountains, the Endless Sea (though it was not  _ truly _ endless, it had merely been named by people with far less seafaring ability than modern Wonderlandians), and the barrier, which collectively created a quarter-circle shaped territory of vivid green in sharp contrast to the inky gloom of the rest of the kingdom.

Yeosang always loved returning to Haven, the warmth and feeling of  _ home _ washing away his stress and anxiety from the escapades in the Dark. But this time, the only thing he felt was misery, with a tinge of fear to it. San was a talented escape artist, having gotten the two of them out of countless situations with ease (and often concerning amounts of glibness), but he hadn’t seemed very clearheaded when Yeosang left him, and the faerie could  _ feel _ the wrongness of the situation lingering even now. There was something terribly off about the entire situation. But he could do nothing for San if he sat here all night being miserable, and so he drew himself to his feet and began heading for the palace.

The walk was a quiet one, the forest’s denizens all fast asleep, and Yeosang wished he had arrived during the day instead. He would have liked to catch up with the forest fae, particularly his friends among them (and it might have helped to stave off the loneliness creeping in the edges of his thoughts). But he carried on anyway, pushing those thoughts back into the depths of his mind, wanting to reach the castle before dawn. Fortunately, the forest was well-lit by the moon high above him, and the trees knew him, so even though he was stumbling with exhaustion Yeosang’s feet always found firm ground. Within an hour, he was at the gates of the castle and the watchmen were leading him gently through the building’s many hallways until he at last collapsed into a chair in the War Room (which was originally a music room, back when the castle had belonged to one of the noble families that had not been amongst the traitors, and still bore the decorations of such a room, with a range of woodwinds hanging on the walls unused – the best place for them, Jongho had said, when they first saw the room).

The other members of the War Council were all there, their eyes full of sympathy – and ordinarily, Yeosang might have been a little put-off by their looks, but he was too tired and miserable to care. He really  _ did _ deserve their sympathy. As long as it wasn’t  _ pity _ .

“We’ll get him back, ‘Sangie,” Seonghwa promised, wrapping an arm around the faerie. “Yunho and Jongho were planning on heading into the Dark for recon tomorrow anyway, and Jihoon and Seungkwan wanted the go-ahead to scope out the main prison anyway, so as long as San hasn’t pulled a Seungcheol and disappeared off the face of the earth, we’ll find him.”

That news, at least, was comforting. Yunho and Jongho – affectionately known as the Terrible Twins because of the shared syllable of their names – were some of the best spies in the entire rebellion, at least when Jongho wasn’t at someone’s throat (which happened far more often than the vampire was willing to admit). And Jihoon and Seungkwan were equally formidable, though their specialty was in assassinations rather than surveillance.

One of the eldest members of the council, Jongwoon, nodded in agreement with Seonghwa’s statement. “In other news relating to council members’ boyfriends, Hyukjae is making progress on locating the princes and says that he should have a map to where they’re being held within the next two weeks,” he said. “Which means, Donghae, you can stop moping. He’ll be back soon.” Hyukjae was the nephew of one of the leaders of the uprising, which meant that during the escape to Haven, he’d stayed behind to distract their pursuers – and to provide the rebels with inside intelligence. Sadly, this also meant that his boyfriend, Donghae, had spent the past several months moping about his ‘loss’. Jongwoon had spent the last several months continuously pointing out to Donghae that Minhyuk, who was in a similar situation as his boyfriend Eunkwang was Hyukjae’s cousin, had managed to survive just fine, and hell, if Seonghwa could run an entire council after losing both his elder brothers, Donghae could manage a few months without Hyukjae around to hold his hand constantly. He was yet to break through, and even Wooyoung’s best efforts were ineffective in cheering the nymph up in the slightest.

“So, Yeosang, what did you and San manage to find out?”

\---––––––––––

San woke slowly, the ache in his temples subsiding almost instantly. One of the greatest benefits to being a vampire was  _ definitely _ his inability to sustain brain damage from concussions – something that he tended to get quite frequently, what with all the people trying to kill him. The cell that he woke in was dark, though a dim hallway light cast flickering shadows through the bars, and the heavy iron chains were cold against his wrists. Footsteps echoed down the stone walls, the jangling of keys loud in San’s ears. Even if he hadn’t had enhanced hearing, it would have been irritating at least, but with it the sound was unbearable. It echoed through the bare cell, a chaotic, high-pitched mess of noise that rang in his ears and dulled the other sounds.

The footsteps drew closer, and the door of the cell swung open to allow the owner of the noise to enter. San didn’t bother to look up. He heard the clanging of the door closing once more, and the prison guard moving away, then silence. Feet came into his line of sight, tall black boots that clicked against the uneven stone floor, and a hand grasped his shoulder, dragging the vampire to his feet.

“Already given up, have you? The commander  _ said _ you were pathetic for a famed rebel general, but I was hoping for a  _ little _ resistance.”

San looked up, face expressionless, and said nothing. There wasn’t really much to say. He’d been hoping that the one to confront him would be Seungcheol, but clearly that wasn’t going to be the case. Still, an unrecognisable medium-ranking officer was better than being faced with one of the more formidable leaders in the army. 

“I would suggest you don’t ignore me,” the officer threatened, and San yawned. Classic half-demon move – use empty threats to try to intimidate the target. Sadly for the soldier pushing him against the wall, San was old enough that such threats left him entirely unfazed. “If you’re going to threaten me,” he began, interrupting himself with another yawn, “try not to beat around the bush with words like ‘suggest’ so much. It lessens the impact.” The vampire grinned, and stifled a laugh as the grip on his shoulder loosened. “Aish, you’re worse at this than Joong.” San loved Hongjoong – he was a great friend, and he always knew exactly what to say to cheer Seonghwa up – but he was  _ awful _ at fighting or any other sort of violence outside of the battlefield, no matter how mild. He routinely hesitated to genuinely fight back during training sessions, and while it was partially a fear of accidentally injuring someone due to his abnormal strength, San suspected that the half-demon was simply too nice to hit someone unless he was in a life or death situation.

The sound of footsteps made him look up. “Ah, finally, Seungcheol. You could have come a bit sooner, surely? This kid has no clue how to interrogate someone.”

“Stop slandering my employees, General,” the human said lightly, gesturing to the officer to leave the room. “It’s offputting.”

San scoffed. “Oh, it’s  _ offputting _ , is it? Well, you know what  _ I _ find offputting–”

“Don’t.” Seungcheol’s voice was harsh, the previous attempt at keeping the atmosphere calm thoroughly abandoned, and for the first time San noticed the dark circles under his eyes – and the darkness  _ in  _ them. “You have  _ no _ idea what I’ve been through. You don’t know what I’ve seen, what I’ve had to  _ do _ .”

“And I suppose you know  _ exactly _ what  _ I’ve _ been through?” San snarled back. “You expect me to feel sorry for you, forgive you,  _ excuse _ you, because of your circumstances, but you can’t spare a moment to consider how  _ I _ feel about seeing someone I thought was a friend working for the enemy?” The chains around his wrists shattered, shards of iron flinging around the room, but before the vampire could make a break for the door, a hand wrapped around his throat, pushing him against the wall.

Seungcheol’s eyes were entirely black, even the whites swallowed by the darkness. Abruptly, San realised  _ why _ he had disappeared so completely. He had heard the rumours that the Dark Army were performing experiments on human soldiers to force them to be loyal, had vaguely known that the number of part-demon soldiers was rising – but he hadn’t thought they would do it to captured rebel soldiers. The other leaned closer to him, and whispered, “I’m sorry. I just– it’s so hard to control, and–”

An explosion close behind the pair sent Seungcheol reeling backwards, sentence unfinished, and the door of the cell gaping open.  _ Run _ , San saw Seungcheol mouth from where he was sprawled on the floor. He could dimly make out the thudding of running footsteps – no doubt soldiers heading for them.  _ I’ll be fine, go, _ the part-demon added, making a shooing motion at the vampire.

San glanced at the door, then back at the other. The footsteps drew closer. And in the split second before the soldiers burst through the door, he made his decision.

\---––––––––––

The war council had just finished their meeting when the sound of the Gate opening echoed through the night, and a blinding flash ripped across the forest, drawing their attention – even Wonwoo, who typically spent the meetings with his head in a book and his hand over Soonyoung’s mouth.

“Odds that it’s just San?” Seonghwa asked, turning to look at Yeosang.

“The forest says whoever it is isn’t a threat, so I guess we’ll just have to wait and see,” Yeosang replied softly, eyes fixed on the distant trees.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so. that was a wild ride of a chapter. a bunch of characters introduced, so here's a quick list of people we've met or heard of so far:
> 
> from ateez:  
san - vampire  
yeosang - faerie  
seonghwa - human  
hongjoong - half-demon half-human  
yunho - it's not mentioned but hes a werewolf  
jongho - also not mentioned but vampire  
mingi - dragon  
wooyoung - not mentioned + will be introduced very soon but hes a nymph
> 
> from seventeen: (note, i haven't decided a lot of these yet so they're just blank)  
seungcheol (s.coups) - prev. human, now part-demon  
jihoon (woozi)  
seungkwan  
wonwoo  
soonyoung (hoshi)
> 
> from super junior:  
jongwoon (yesung) - human  
donghae - nymph  
hyukjae (eunhyuk) - witch but that's not relevant or mentioned
> 
> cameos:  
minhyuk & eunkwang of btob


	4. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm sorry this took so long to finish! i got stuck on the start for ages, but i finally finished it. the next update will probably be over a month away, though, because i'm going overseas with my family and won't have time to write.

_ “The forest says whoever it is isn’t a threat, so I guess we’ll just have to wait and see,” Yeosang replied softly, eyes fixed on the distant trees. _

\---––––––––––

San moved quietly through the forest, scanning his surroundings constantly. Logically, he knew that none of the forest’s residents, if they were even awake, would attack him, but the limp figure he carried in his arms was not so widely known—and the black blood that dripped from a cut on Seungcheol’s arm marked him clearly as being part-demon. It had taken the fae months to warm up even to the rebels’ nicest demons and half-demons, and they rarely deigned to acknowledge San’s authority—possibly because they knew how much it irritated the vampire. So he was cautious now, hoping to avoid any confrontations or other difficult situations until  _ after _ he’d managed to get at least a few hours of sleep.

The forest was dark, the trees blocking out the moon so San was clueless as to how much time had passed since he was captured. It was so easy to lose track of time in the Dark, and having been knocked unconscious previously didn’t help. Ordinarily, he would judge time based on how exhausted he was, but the period of unconsciousness had reset that clock. He hoped it hadn’t been too long, although he doubted it. He’d just have to brace himself for Seonghwa’s wrath.

Then, without any warning, the vampire was yanked into the air upside down, a rope closing tightly around his ankle. Somehow, he managed to keep hold of his unconscious companion, though it was becoming increasingly difficult as gravity worked against him while San spun in the air, struggling to stop Seungcheol’s head from bashing into a tree. He heard soft footsteps nearby, most likely a faerie going to notify the castle guards. Within minutes, the dangling pair were surrounded by nymphs and a handful of armed guards, and San was growing increasingly uncomfortable.

“Is there a reason why you lot keep just staring at us? It’s getting awfully unpleasant just hanging here, and my friend could use some medical attention.”

The guards continued their staring, wordlessly.

“Look, I’m sure it’s  _ very _ suspicious that I’ve come back carrying an enemy officer, but I swear it’s for a good reason.”

One of the nymphs stepped forward, taking a spear from a guard’s hand. She looked up at him and scowled. “You’re staying right where you are until someone from the castle can verify your identity.”

San frowned. “What? Why would I need to verify my identity? Impostors can’t get through the Gate–” He broke off, staring down at her incredulously. “You don’t mean to say that someone’s gotten through pretending to be me, do you?”

“Indeed,” the nymph said, then she stepped back into the ring, returning the guard’s spear. More footsteps sounded from nearby, and San twisted around to see the latest arrival.

It was Yeosang, who looked both far more alive and far worse for wear than when San had last seen him. Given that he was safe and back within the land of living plants, San guessed that the reason for his dark shadows and careless appearance was worry over San. When the faerie looked up at the trapped vampire, though, his face lit up in a way that made San wonder if he ought to get captured more often just to see that look.

“That’s him,” the faerie said softly, voice barely carrying through the small clearing. An arrow sliced cleanly through the rope that bound his feet, and San tumbled to the ground, landing on his feet only due to practice. Yeosang rushed over to him, but San shook his head. “Don’t hug me,” he said, “You’ll only get your nice clothes dirty.”

The fairy scoffed, and pulled the vampire into a hug anyway. “Who cares about  _ nice clothes _ ?” he mumbled into San’s shoulder, “I was worried you were  _ dead _ .”

“I don’t die that easily, you know that,” San replied easily, returning the hug. “But, uh, that reminds me, we should probably get him–” he gestured to Seungcheol, whom he had left lying on the ground, “–some medical attention. And someone needs to explain how the Gate let in an impostor.”

Yeosang frowned. “Yeah, about that… I think it’s best if you see him for yourself.”

\---––––––––––

The castle’s dungeons had never been used to hold prisoners before, having been built only because of their value as a storage space and because convention demanded it. But thankfully they had left a few cells empty, just in case. Of course, nobody had expected that using them would be necessary — but when Seonghwa and Yeosang were aggravated sufficiently, mercy was the last thing on their minds.

Yeosang led San down the stairs to the dungeons, illuminating the space with his magic rather than one of the finicky wooden torches. “He showed up not long after I got back, maybe three hours at most. Waltzed right into the War Room without anyone realising it wasn’t you.” The faerie huffed. “It wasn’t even a  _ good _ glamour, it just helps that he naturally looks a bit like you.”

San shrugged and wrapped an arm around his boyfriend’s waist. “The guards were probably just tired, Sangie. Cut them some slack.”

At last, they reached the end of their excursion — a dimly-lit cell where a young man sat chained and gagged. He was struggling against his restraints, though whether out of frustration or desperation it wasn’t clear.

“We had to gag him after he wouldn’t stop yelling nonsense,” the guard at the door said. “Kept us up all day and night with it.”

The vampire hummed. “‘Course he did. Can you open the door and ungag him, please? I’d like to speak to him.”

The guard unlocked the barred door, at which point the man seemed to calm down slightly, allowing the guard to remove his gag. San stepped forward and crouched in front of the man, smiling approachingly, then said something in the same strange language the man had been babbling in before he was gagged several hours ago. Yeosang watched in quiet awe as the two began to converse, bewildered when the vampire reached out and hugged the stranger. Perhaps realising that there were others in the vicinity who  _ didn’t _ know what had just happened, San stood and turned back to Yeosang. “This is Chan,” he said. “He was hoping that pretending to be me might get him further, ‘cause he didn’t realise that there was a glamour expert on the council.”

The faerie glared at the so-called ‘Chan’, ignoring San’s compliment of his abilities. “That doesn’t make him trustworthy! What was he doing?”

San exhaled loudly. “He wants to help us.”

“Why do you trust him?” Yeosang challenged, feeling only  _ slightly _ remorseful for his harsh interrogation. He was tired, and he didn’t want some stranger who he couldn’t understand taking up all of his boyfriend’s attention when he’d only just gotten him back. “He doesn’t even speak Common.”

“Are you  _ jealous _ , Sangie?” San looked like he was resisting the urge to laugh. Yeosang pouted, and the vampire walked closer to pull him into a hug. “You don’t need to be. Chan’s my brother, I’d trust him with– maybe not my life, I don’t trust him to have that much common sense, but I do trust him. And he  _ does _ speak Common–” a pause in which San turned his head to glare at Chan, “–he’s just a moron who, for some unfathomable reason, chooses to speak the wrong language when it’s clearly  _ not _ going to benefit him.”

“How was I supposed to know that you’re the only person in this place that speaks Angelic?” Chan piped up, and Yeosang could see that San was repressing the urge to say  _ something _ sarcastic.

“So you concluded that yelling in Angelic and disturbing everyone else in the castle was the best solution, rather than just explaining yourself in a language you  _ know _ is spoken here?” Yeosang asked, raising an eyebrow.

“He’s a moron,” San supplied helpfully. “Also forgets that the way he speaks Angelic is absolute garbage, so even if there  _ was _ another Angelic speaker here, they probably still wouldn’t understand a word he says.”

“Hey, it’s not  _ garbage _ !” Chan retorted.

San shook his head, the picture of an exasperated sibling. “You don’t even conjugate anything! And when you do, it’s the complete wrong tense!”

The guard, who had been watching this whole exchange with a lot of confusion, finally spoke. “Isn’t that the language that only angels can understand?”

San stiffened, glancing across to Chan, clearly panicking. Yeosang, though he was just as curious as the guard about why a vampire spoke it fluently, shook his head. An explanation was less important than San’s comfort. “Clearly not, since San’s not an angel. It wouldn’t be the first piece of angel mythology that’s been proven wrong.”

“Then what’s his brother? Isn’t the General hundreds of years old? How can they look the same age if his brother isn’t also some immortal being–”

“He’s not  _ technically _ my brother,” Chan interrupted. “We just say we’re brothers because we’re the same age and we grew up together, plus we look kind of similar. He picked up Angelic in the same way any kid picks up a new language—from hearing people speak it around him. It’s not  _ technically _ exclusive to angels, it’s just a bitch of a language to try to learn because it’s so different to everything else.”

San relaxed beside Yeosang as the guard nodded in understanding. “So, you want to undo those chains, and we can all go upstairs and get some sleep? Because personally, I’m about to just fall asleep standing up here,” the vampire said, dramatically collapsing onto the faerie.

“Oh my god, San, stop it!”

\---––––––––––

In his room high in the castle, Prince Seonghwa gazed out over the forest and fields around the castle, eyes fixed on the shimmering silver barrier in the distance. He ought to be asleep, he knew, but it was hard to sleep when his brothers were still imprisoned and suffering. And Seonghwa was forbidden from travelling outside Haven, lest he also be captured and all hope lost, which frustrated him to no end. He was certain that if he were allowed, he could quickly find his brothers purely with instinct – the three of them had always held a bond that was unusually strong, despite only his eldest brother possessing any magical ability. Surely if he were accompanied by someone competent, like Jongho and Yunho, he would be safe enough. Seonghwa sighed. Not for the first time, he wished that he had fought harder against their ambushers, managed to rescue one of his brothers so that he could be free of the burden of ruling.

There was a brief burst of light from the barrier, and in its aftermath the prince spied a small winged creature fluttering urgently towards the castle. After a few minutes, it drew close enough for him to identify it as a bird, carry something long and thin and much larger than itself. Several more minutes passed and the bird grew large enough to make out its features, but the object in its claws remained indistinct. But when the animal finally dropped its package onto Seonghwa’s windowsill, his eyes widened in recognition.

\---––––––––––

In a cell deep in the heart of the most notorious prison in the Dark, two brothers sat, one with his head resting on the other’s lap. The elder ran his fingers through the faded brown strands of his brother’s hair, gazing vacantly out the barred window into the endless darkness.

“What are you thinking about?” the younger asked, rolling over and propping himself up on his elbows.

The elder sighed. “I’m just hoping that ‘Hwa is doing okay. Running a country is a heavy burden to bear, and when you’re also trying to overthrow a coup, it must only get heavier.”

His brother shrugged. “Don’t worry about him too much, ‘Su. He’s got a good support network, and I’m sure Yeosang is making sure he takes care of himself. And besides, all the rebellious asshole nobles are on this side of the barrier.”

“I guess you’re right, Hannie.”

“Of course I am–” A piercing cry of frustration resonated through the prison, followed by the sound of running soldiers. The younger looked up at his brother, who shrugged.

“Well, by the sounds of things that’s one more rebel and one less prisoner,” the elder said lightly, trying not to think too hard about how the soldiers would take this one out on them.

They sat in silence for several minutes, returning to their previous positions, before footsteps once again interrupted their peace. By the time either of them had deigned to look up, the door was already being unlocked to allow a group of four soldiers to step inside the cramped cell.

“Take the younger one,” one of them directed, and the other three all moved to tear him from his brother. The elder could only watch, knowing that he was too weak from months of poor treatment to be able to fight back. “This’ll make up for them stealing one of our best officers.”

“One of your best officers?” the younger asked in confusion, “Why would the rebels steal one of  _ them _ ?”

He received a punch to the gut for his trouble, before being hoisted into the air by the tallest of the soldiers, far out of his brother’s reach and without any way of gaining leverage.

“Yes, you might know him,” the superior said, a grin spreading across his face. “Choi Seungcheol.”

The younger’s face went white. But before he could say a word, the soldiers left the cell, carrying him with them. The elder didn’t dare move, though it hurt him terribly to allow the men to walk out with his brother.

And when the sound of footsteps had faded away, Crown Prince Jeongsu slumped down against the wall, closed his eyes and tried not to cry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so. that was a wild ride. the gate let in someone it maybe shouldn't have, san has a brother who's apparently not biologically his brother and is also an angel, seonghwa gets a mysterious package, and we've now met the other two princes. also i'd like to apologise for my spelling of jeongsu, i know it's not the most common spelling, but it's the one i'm used to (and i think it works better with the other two princes' names, since they all have 'eong' in them). and the rest of ateez are coming, i swear!

**Author's Note:**

> hello! firstly: thank you for reading! secondly: updates are going to be pretty slow - i'm quite busy at the moment - but i will try my best! i can't guarantee anything like weekly, but i'm going to try to get at least one or two chapters up each month. thirdly: i would love to know what you think! feedback, thoughts, predictions, things you'd like to see (ships, dynamics, etc), etc. anything and everything would be greatly appreciated.


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